Barring some colossal disaster by the top half of the leaderboard, Rory McIlroy won’t be in contention at the PGA Championship. Maybe that’s taken some pressure off the former No. 1 golfer in the world because he is finding new ways to screw up and even more impressive ways to recover.

At the 11th hole on Sunday, McIlroy completely sliced his shot into the gallery where it rattled around among the fans at Bellerive for a good 20 seconds — the kind of ricochet you’d expect from Happy Gilmore on a mini-golf course. When it finally settled down, Rory was left with a downward sloping shot, with small landing zone on the green. If his next shot placed the ball anywhere else it would’ve rolled all the way back down into the first or second cut.

There was little McIlroy could do, and it’s never a good sign when the cameramen can’t even get a good look at where you are trying to hit from. It’s got to be even worse when the gallery is crowding in all around trying to get a good look.

Rory didn’t just place this ball perfectly on the green. He added a gorgeous backspin and made sure it stuck the landing for an easy tap-in putt.

Of course, McIlroy had good reason to trust his short game. Just two holes earlier, on the edge of the 9th green, Rory used a softer version of the same type of shot to sneak away with a birdie on the Par 4.

He may not be in the fight for a top finish at the PGA Championship, but McIlroy sure is making it hard to take your eyes off his game. With shots like these, it might be a bit dangerous for fans at Bellerive to even blink when he’s nearby.

Rory McIlroy’s short game has drawn plenty of criticism lately, but two shots on Sunday proved that his problems may be short-lived. (AP Photo)